Not long after a small self-serve ice and water vending business went up so did the message on the side of a building on the property next door: “Ice box is a eyesore.” A fence has also gone up between the two properties.

Pam Castellano, who owns Crystal Coast Vending Service with her husband, Michael, said they have never heard directly from their neighbor about the concerns but have noticed the message like everyone else.

“It’s obvious from his actions he’s not happy,” she said.

Castellano said the ice vending business is their first business and they saw an opportunity to start it after driving by the new Auto Zone and seeing a sign outside advertising a spot for a possible ATM machine.

Feeling that their self-serve business was similar in nature, they inquired about the possibility of using the location and the couple was able to lease the spot on the property. The business opened Feb. 1.

“We’ve had a lot of support and people told us that it is convenient,” she said.

Castellano said they worked to build something nice in appearance and painted it the same colors as the Auto Zone to blend in as much as possible.

She said they maintain it daily, and the self-serve machine is equipped to alert them if there is a problem with it.

“It there’s some special concern they have we can try to address it. We keep it clean and maintained. We’re not sure what the concerns are,” Castellano said.

For neighboring property owners John and Pat Konarski, the issue goes beyond the look, though that’s part of it.

“An ATM machine would not stand out as much,” Pat Konarski said.

Konarski said they knew an ATM was a possibility. They had no idea that an ice vending business would eventually locate there.

Their property runs beside and behind where the ice business sits and had no idea it was coming until it was already built.

Required to send out notice to adjacent property owners or not, Konarski, who sits on the town’s planning board, said the town is a small one and they should have been notified out of courtesy.

“That was my problem with it; they need a little bit of common courtesy,” she said.

She said the fence was prompted by concerns people with boats and trailers may have to pull into their driveway along NC 24 and cut across it to get to the ice machine.

Town officials said the business has met all town requirements and is leasing space on the Auto Zone property as an accessory building.